Chapter Twenty Two: This Game We Play
A pair of green eyes tracked the movements of the people milling about on the streets below, her sharp hearing picking up on their overlapping conversations, until she heard a familiar voice.
"Tonight, ten o'clock. I hear he's stepping into the ring for the first time in decades."
With a snarl, Hayley turned away from the rooftop, her green gaze now melting into a bright, angry shade of gold.
She flung open the doors that lead into Klaus' drawing room, finding the Hybrid standing in front of the fireplace with a tumbler of whiskey in his hand.
"Hello, love," he said without turning to look at her. He could feel the rage rolling off her in waves, which felt nearly as hot as the fire that crackled in front of him.
"Don't call me love. I know what you're doing. Were you planning on telling me, or were you content with lying and going behind my back?"
Klaus reined in his own anger. He placed down his glass before turning to her, slipping his hands into the pockets of his slacks. He raised a golden brow, jaw clenched. "I've never lied to you."
Hayley scoffed. "No, you just withheld the truth. Completely different."
"I don't have time for your sarcasm, little wolf," Klaus growled.
"No all you have time for is your little games!" Hayley shouted, flashing across the room to strike Klaus across the face, eyes blazing.
Klaus turned his head to meet her molten gaze. He rubbed his jaw, which now sported a healing bruise. "Did you think I would stop the games just because of you?"
Hayley stepped back, as if he had struck her back in turn. She lifted her chin, giving him a disgusted look. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. After all, why would you think about, or even care about, anyone but yourself?" she hissed, before turning to storm out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
Klaus' expression fell and he flinched at the loud crack when the door splintered against the frame. He released a deep breath, then picked up the whiskey before throwing the rest back, wishing he had more so he didn't have to feel the weight pressing down on his chest, and to wash away the taste in his mouth, which tasted remarkably similar to guilt.
Ooo0ooO
Flashback: Three Days Ago
Hayley's heart knocked loudly against her ribs as she struggled to catch her breath. Her cheek was pressed against Klaus' chest as they lied tangled together in the middle of her bed. The sheets had been kicked away, neither of them wanting any barriers between them.
She lifted her head a little, nuzzling his shoulder, then pausing when she saw the mark resting on his neck now. It had been there for nearly a day, and it had yet to heal, just like hers. She suddenly felt uneasy again.
Klaus opened his eyes, sensing the sudden tension in her body. He looked at her, and saw her eyes were locked on his skin, dark and unreadable. "Hayley?"
Hayley turned her gaze to meet his. "Hmm?"
"What is it?"
The Alpha sighed then sat up, drawing her knees up against her chest. Her hair fell in tangles around her shoulders, and she bit her lower lip uncertainly. Her brows scrunched together, and then she seemed to gather herself before taking a deep breath. "Klaus… how much do you know about werewolves? Our laws and rituals?"
Klaus sat up as well, frowning as he leaned back against the headboard. "I regret that my knowledge is fairly limited. I have some books… but since I wasn't in touch with my werewolf side for many, many years, and it's still relatively new to me… I'm fairly ignorant, to be blunt." He gave her a smirk. "Are you going to teach me, love?"
At a different time, Hayley might have rolled her eyes, or cracked a joke about teaching him a thing or two, but her gaze remained serious, almost anxious. "So you don't know anything?" she pressed.
Klaus' smirk fell away. "Hayley, what is it?" he repeated.
Hayley drew in another breath. "Werewolf law is fairly straight forward, as are our rituals, and they're strictly enforced. The first being to keep our existence secret from the human world, as it is for the witches and the vampires…"
She went on for a while, explaining the laws by which the wolves lived, some similar to the other laws enforced by the witches and vampires, with some variance. She told them about the myths surrounding werewolves, a few he knew, but then the conversation grounded to a halt.
"And there's one more myth… about mates," Hayley said slowly.
"Mates? As in mated for life to one person?"
Hayley nodded. "It's one of the larger myths surrounding werewolves. It's believed it started when the first humans learned of the existence of wolves, and learned of our marriage rituals. Back then, hundreds of years ago, when a werewolf wanted to marry another, they would marry in a similar fashion to humans… but there were a few differences."
"Such as?"
"Many took place during the full moon," she began. "We believe our existence is linked to the moon, therefore we drew our power from it. Being married under a full moon gives the marriage strength, to both our human and wolf forms. The idea of taking a mate came from these rituals, and because… because long ago, wolves did not exchange rings when they bonded to each other for life. They… they would mark one another."
Klaus' brows drew themselves together. "Like branding or a tattoo?"
Hayley shook her head. "No. When a wolf wanted to mark another, they would do it by biting their significant other, either on the shoulder or on the thighs. The mark would take days, maybe even weeks to heal, and when they did the wolves would then be wed, having showed their pack their devotion to one another. This is why humans think we have mates… because of the mark." Her gaze finally fell away from Klaus'.
The Hybrid sat frozen, speechless.
"Those rituals changed. We wanted to blend more in with the humans, so we exchange rings like they do now. The mark was no different than a ring, and wolves could take another partner if they choose. Divorce isn't unheard of in our world, it's just… rare. Perhaps that's what fed into the idea of mates… but the human world has twisted the idea of our world into half wolf beasts wearing shredded flannel shirts and jeans, or a monster that loses itself because of the moon… And we all know how they know view vampires or witches. But the farther from the truth they got, the safer we became, so we never discredited the lies."
Klaus' gaze then dropped to the silvery pink scar on her shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" he whispered.
"Because I forgot… I didn't think!" Hayley then stood up, running her hands through her hair. "The marking ritual is old, Klaus. It was started by the Original werewolves, the Original Pack itself. Only the old packs still practice the ritual. Mine doesn't. I didn't know about it myself until Eve taught me, and I didn't know that you and I would… well I didn't know!"
Klaus stayed still, not trusting himself to move. He felt shock and betrayal, but he also felt uncertainty and uneasiness, along with some smugness and curiosity and hope, which made him feel all the more uneasy.
"Did you know about this when you marked me?"
Hayley stiffened. Guilt flashed across her features.
Klaus stood up immediately, his eyes now darkening as all of those other emotions got buried under anger. "So you left me in the dark while you marked me, and for what? Is it just a joke to you? Do you care what it means? You clearly knew what you were doing while I... " Klaus turned from her, unable to look at her pale complexion, and wide green eyes. "Leave," he snarled harshly.
"Klaus-,"
"Leave!" he shouted, turning his gold and black gaze on her, baring his teeth.
Hayley stepped back, then dashed from the room, not before grabbing his shirt to cover herself. She didn't slam the door, but left it open, leaving behind nothing but her woodsy scent.
Klaus buried his hands in his hair, struggling to take deep breaths. But then he picked up the closest thing to him, a lamp, and threw it against the wall, where it shattered loudly.
Flashback Ends
Ooo0ooO
Looking back at it now, Klaus regretted letting her leave that room. They didn't speak to each other after that, and Klaus decided to start the games again, something he had stopped once Hayley had joined him in the Abattoir with news of the Hunters. In a moment of rage, he ordered Marcel to go around the town, telling the news that they would start tonight, and the headliner would be himself.
Klaus also regretted lashing out like he had. He hadn't allowed her to tell him why she had marked him, or why she didn't tell him after he had marked her. He recognized they had both been ignorant, and had reacted foolishly, all because they had fought instead of talking things through. Before, Klaus might have enjoyed getting into a row with the wolf, but now… Things were different, and something told him they could never go back to what they were before.
He stared at the cracked door, then realized he was still being foolish if he let her leave a second time. So this time, he went after her.
Ooo0ooO
Klaus found Hayley sitting outside, on his throne, glaring daggers down at the arena in the Abattoir. Her knuckles were white as they gripped the arms of the chair, and her eyes were back to green, but were still full of anger.
"Is this how you always sat, looking down at the people you forced to fight?" she snapped, not looking at him.
"Once, yes."
"And yet here you are, ready to enter the ring yourself. You never struck me as a dumbass."
"I'd say I'm impulsive."
"Why do you do this? Why have you been doing this? Does it give you pleasure?"
Klaus closed his eyes. "Yes. Or it did."
"This throne is fucking uncomfortable."
His eyes flew open at the mutter, shocked. "What?"
Hayley glared at him. She stood up, then walked up to him, eyes narrowed. "You should have let me finish talking."
"I… I know."
"But… I should have told you the truth sooner."
Klaus now met her gaze hesitantly, then relaxed slightly when he saw she was looking away, anger now replaced with a frown and a thoughtful expression.
"I think we need to work on our communication skills," she told him, moving to lean against the railing.
Klaus joined her. "I thought you like fighting with me."
"Not like that," she admitted. "And I don't think you do either."
Klaus shook his head. "Hayley…"
"I'm sorry," she blurted out, turning to look at him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you and I'm sorry if I marked you… if you didn't want that. I didn't give you a choice and that's on me. You didn't know, I did."
"Hayley-,"
"I know you think that it didn't mean anything, but it...did. I don't know how… how much, I mean, this is all moving so fast… and-,"
"Hayley!"
Hayley closed her mouth, looking at him hesitantly.
Klaus stepped forward, taking her hand in his. "I'm sorry as well."
She released a breath sharply. She squeezed his hand. "We are a couple of idiots, aren't we?"
Klaus returned her smirk. "Yes…" He stepped closer to her, leaning down. "But you're mine," he whispered against her ear, before brushing his lips gently over the mark- his mark.
Hayley gulped down another breath. "Are you still going to have the games tonight?"
Frowning, Klaus pulled away from her. That wasn't what he had expected her to say. "Yes," he said slowly.
"Good," she said, flashing him a devious grin. "Because I have a plan on how we can use your impulsiveness to our advantage."
"Oh?" Klaus asked, grinning as well. "Do tell."
Ooo0ooO
Disclaimer: I do not own the Originals.
Author's Note: What songs makes you think of Klayley?
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